The Public Health Emergency Operation Centre of Samut Sakhon has decided to seal off seven major factories, where many workers are infected with COVID-19, forbidding any worker to leave their factory compound until the end of February.
Public Health Permanent Secretary Dr. Kiatipoom Wongrajit said Tuesday that the centre has also sought help from the army and the local administration to control of the movement of workers in line with the stricter measures adopted to control the spread of the virus.
More than 12,000 infections have, so far, been recorded in Thailand’s coastal province of Samut Sakhon. Of these, about 9,000 cases were found in the seven major factories, which employ over 40,000 workers, mostly migrants from Myanmar.
Dr. Kiatipoom said that, in the past, health officials had focused on pro-active screening to find infections in the factories and communities in Samut Sakhon but, from now on, he said that the focus will be shifted to controlling the spread of the virus in risk areas, like factories, and among at-risk groups.
This measure means the seven factories can continue to operate as normal, but their employees must remain within the factory compound at all times, said Dr. Kiatipoom.
